Harvey Harvest Festival.

This festival is on every year.  I went once, many years ago, not long after it started.  I remember it as being fun and something that I'd probably go to again.  But I didn't and I'm not sure why.  I always intended to but I rarely knew about it beforehand, because I don't read newspapers, watch TV or listen to the radio much I miss out on a lot of good stuff.    This year though I saw it mentioned somewhere and thought it would be nice to go again.

A harvest festival promoting the go for 2 & 5 theme, that's something I want to be at.

You can read a bit about it here http://harveyfest.com.au/.   It sounds like a great day out doesn't it.  To most of those there it probably was.  I however went with different expectations and was disappointed when they were not met.  It being touted as a *harvest* festival and *go for 2 & 5*     I expected to see barrel loads of fresh fruit and veg. Truckloads even. At least a few stalls selling yummy, fresh produce.   I went with the intention of stocking up on heaps of local grown, freshly picked fruit and veg.  The event was advertised as being in Snell Park.  We found Snell Park easily enough, it was the area full of stalls selling nothing to do with 2 and 5.  We saw lots of stalls selling all kinds of stuff.  A lot of it *local* but that depends on what you call local I suppose.  A lot though was just the everyday big market stuff.  And there were rides and bouncy castles if you have small kids that like that sort of thing.   

After walking and looking the length of the street a couple of times I finally asked someone where the grape stomping was and headed up a short alleyway to an area behind some shops.  The Piazza? .  If that's where it is then tell me please.  I may be a bit dense but I'm sure I'm not the only one...maybe I was though as I have read only good things about this event.  And I'm not saying it was a bad event just not what I went for.

We found the grape stomping, that's fun to watch but it's a small area and was quite crowded.   We walked all around this area and found some trestle tables with fruit and veg on.  Local?  Freshly picked?   I didn't get that impression.  It was in plastic bags and it all looked like anything that could be bought from the local IGA.   There didn't seem to be much there either.  I didn't buy anything.  

I would have liked to have watched a bit more of the grape stomping too but after seeing them throwing the stomped grapes into a rubbish skip I was very disillusioned about the whole event.  Those grapes would have been a welcome food for the chooks of the area.  Why weren't they being kept separate for the chook owners to collect instead of being wasted by being thrown into a big bin with rubbish?   I found that very sad and not quite right.

An event like this would be a massive stream of income for the whole area.  The work put in to have something on this scale would be huge and the organisers did do a good job but...  It's that "but" that will make me reconsider going again.

If I do go again I will go with different expectations, I will take more time to listen and sit and watch things more.  I will take a big bin to bring home some stomped grapes to give to my chooks.  It is things like this that make me see how different I am to most people, no wonder I don't have many friends to do stuff with, I'm too bloody whingey...but really I'm not.

If you went I hope you enjoyed it

I have found this on that link that I put up top. ***Heats will be held from 10am in the Go for 2 & 5 Piazza and the Grand Final stomp off will be held on the main stage in Snell Park around 1pm.***   I saw nothing, no signs anywhere there to tell me this.